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A grey bowl containing chicken curry with chickpea and topped with coriander and lime wedges.

Chicken and Chickpea Curry

Delicious Chicken and Chickpea Curry recipe made with tender chicken breast, chickpea tins. Make the curry under 30 minutes with pantry-friendly spices and cupboard friendly ingredients.
5 from 23 votes
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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: British Indian, Indian
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 284kcal
Author: Khin

Ingredients

  • 250 g Chicken breast ( about 9oz ) breast/thigh, boneless skinless, cut medium bite-size pieces
  • 1 Chickpea tin ( about 400g/14oz ) water drained
  • 3-4 Shallot Asian shallot or small shallot onions
  • 3 cloves Garlic Grated
  • 1 tbsp Ginger paste Or finely grated
  • 2 Tomatoes Large vine ripen tomatoes, finely chopped
  • 2 tsp Tomato puree Or tomato concentrate
  • 200 ml Coconut milk Full fat or creamy coconut milk ( see details in note )
  • 250 ml Water about 1 cup, add more if needed
  • 3-4 Green Chilli cut half lengthways
  • handful Coriander roughly chopped
  • tsp Salt Adjust salt according to your taste
  • 1 tsp Chicken powder or half chicken stock cubes ( about 5 g )
  • 2-3 tbsp Oil Vegetable, sunflower, or neutral flavour oil, or ghee

Spices

  • 1 tbsp Curry powder Mild/hot Indian curry powder, or Madaras curry powder
  • 1 tsp Turmeric
  • 1 tsp Paprika powder or chilli powder
  • ½ tsp Cumin seeds Zeera/Jeera seeds
  • 2-3 Bay leaves
  • ½ tsp Garam Masala

Instructions

  • First, heat the oil into medium heat and saute the bay leaves and cumin seeds for few seconds.
  • Next, add the chopped shallots and cook until translucent, then add the grated garlic and ginger paste. Stir well until the onions are light brown.
  • Follow with the spices. curry powder, paprika, and turmeric. Saute for few seconds then add the chopped tomatoes and tomato puree. Cook until the tomatoes are soft and oil separates.
  • Add the chicken pieces, stir and cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the chickpeas, water, and coconut milk.
  • Season with salt and chicken powder/stock cubes. Stir well, close the lid and simmer for 8-10 minutes or cook until the chicken and chickpeas are soft and tender. You can add more water if the gravy is too thick.
  • Now stir in green chillies, chopped coriander and garam masala.
  • Turn off the heat and transfer to serving plate. Garnish with chopped coriander and green chillies. Serve with basmati rice, naan, flatbread or chapati.

Video

Notes

  • Curry powder - use any of your favourite Indian curry powder, mild or hot.
  • Bay leaves & cumin seeds - Bring more flavour to the curry. If you don't have it in hand, you can skip it. 
  • Coconut milk - cream or full-fat coconut milk works best with the curry. If you don't like coconut flavour, swap it with heavy/double cream. For a healthier/low-fat option add greek yoghurt 100g.
  • Shallot onions - recommend using Asian shallots or baby shallot onions which are easy to melt in the curry sauce. 
  • Chicken powder/stock cubes - add chicken stock cubes or powder for extra rich umami curry taste. It's totally optional, you can skip it if you don't have it in hand. 
  • Ingredient Variations - you don't need to add the exact same spices or ingredients that are used in this recipe. Canned butter beans, kidney beans, or black beans are a great substitutes for chickpea tin. Or you can also try it out with boiled chana dal or chickpea. 
  • Extra vegetables - Small dices of carrot, potato, aubergine, butternut squash, courgette can be also added.
  • Vegetarian option - add paneer, tofu, potatoes or sweet potatoes instead of chicken and swap the chicken stock with vegetable stock cubes. 
  • How to prep ahead? You can cook this dish one day ahead, once it cools down keep it in an air-tight container in the fridge. Re-heat over the stovetop or in the microwave until piping hot just before serving. Add a bit of water if the gravy is too thick. 
  • How to freeze it? Once it cools down completely, freeze it in an air-tight container in the freezer. Curries usually last in the freezer, up to 3 months. 
  • How to prepare for the crowd? You can double or triple the ingredients, there is an auto-multiplier in the recipe card. 
 
Nutritional facts are calculated approximately and can be varied by the number of factors. 

Nutrition

Calories: 284kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 1195mg | Potassium: 622mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 810IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 45mg | Iron: 3mg
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